The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

Namgung Il was still silently following behind Namgung Cheong.

'Where on earth are we going?'

Although it seemed like he had been living in the Namgung Clan for quite some time, Namgung Il was a little surprised that there were still places he didn't know.

As expected of the great Namgung Clan.

The grounds were so unnecessarily large that if it wasn't a place he usually went to, he still seemed to get lost once in a while.

Thud—

Just then, the warriors guarding the entrance in front bowed their heads to Namgung Cheong.

Namgung Cheong naturally ignored the greeting and stopped in front of the entrance, and as the warriors opened the door, he started walking again.

'Is this the third time?'

This was the third time he had passed through an entrance guarded by warriors like this.

A very strict guard, just by looking.

In the first place, the fact that there were three entrances like this, and that warriors were stationed at each one, couldn't help but feel quite suspicious.

'A place with stricter security than the clan head's residence...'

At that moment, Namgung Cheong stopped walking.

"We've arrived."

"...?"

At those words, Namgung Il also stopped walking and looked ahead.

It was dark, so he couldn't see the full appearance, but he could tell that there was some huge building in front.

"...Where is this?"

"Come to think of it, this must be your first time coming here."

"..."

"The Emperor's Secret Archives."

The Emperor's... Secret Archives?

Only after hearing that did Namgung Il understand why the security had been so tight.

'So this was the Emperor's Secret Archives.'

He had heard the name before.

A place where the treasures and martial arts of the Namgung Clan were gathered.

In a way, it was a place that could be called the Namgung Clan itself, so it was a place where the security had to be stricter than any other place in the Namgung Clan.

"..."

Even Namgung Jeongung had never told him about this place in detail.

In the first place, he had no intention of knowing either.

No matter how close they were, they had understood each other on that part and had not interfered at all.

On the contrary, because they were close, they had tried not to have any interest in each other's secret martial arts.

For places like the Nine Sects and One Union or the Five Great Clans, they had no choice but to be extremely sensitive about this part.

'To think I'd come to see this place.'

At this moment, he could once again realize that he was a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan.

But why had Namgung Cheong brought him here?

No matter how much he was a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan, he couldn't help but have questions about being brought here so suddenly.

"Let's go in."

Namgung Cheong said and opened the door and went inside.

Namgung Il immediately followed behind him, but because the inside was so dark, to be honest, he couldn't really distinguish what was inside.

"Close the door."

What? Close the door here?

It was already dark and he couldn't even distinguish what was in front, so if he closed the door, he really wouldn't be able to see anything.

'...It can't be helped.'

He didn't know what was what, but he would have to do as Namgung Cheong said for now.

Click—

As he closed the door, the inside became completely dark, as he had predicted.

His vision had narrowed to the point where he couldn't even clearly see what was right in front of him.

Just then, a strange sound began to be heard in Namgung Il's ears.

Creeeak—

What on earth was this sound?

As his vision narrowed, Namgung Il had no choice but to focus solely on his hearing.

'This sound... is some kind of device moving?'

This dull and interlocking sound, a mechanism was definitely operating.

Since there was no way to know what kind of mechanism was operating at the moment, Namgung Il raised his senses to the maximum and was wary of his surroundings.

"There's no need to be so wary."

"...?"

"I'm just opening the real entrance."

Just then, Namgung Cheong's voice was heard in the darkness.

The real entrance?

Namgung Il was able to understand what that meant a moment later.

Thud—

The sound of something interlocking was heard once more, and the surroundings became quiet again.

And a faint light was visible over there.

In the pitch-black darkness, only that floor was shining.

"..."

Namgung Il naturally walked towards where the light was coming from.

'I see... so this is what the real entrance meant.'

There was a hidden passage under the floor.

Perhaps only after passing through this passage would the place where the real treasures and martial arts of the Namgung Clan were hidden appear.

In other words, all the books and objects in this area were fakes.

'Only the Namgung Clan could do something like this.'

It costs a lot of money to install even a simple mechanism like this.

Was that all? What about the things embedded in the walls of that passage?

Just one of those night-luminescent pearls illuminating this area would cost several gold taels to obtain.

'What a waste of money.'

Of course, since the martial arts of the Namgung Clan were worth more than that, they had invested this much... but still, Namgung Il felt a little bitter.

"Master, don't we have a secret archive where the secret manuals of the Beggars' Sect are stored?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because we're beggars."

He could understand everything with that one word.

"Then... how are the ultimate techniques of the Beggars' Sect, like the Dog Beating Staff Technique and the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, passed down to future generations?"

"There's no need to make a useless secret archive, we have this."

"This?"

"Mouth."

"...Ah."

"In that sense, we will begin the transmission of the Dog Beating Staff Technique from today."

Master... I don't know why tears are blurring my vision right now.

Our Beggars' Sect definitely has the best secret archive, the mouth.

"What are you doing?"

Just then, hearing Namgung Cheong's voice, Namgung Il came out of his reminiscence.

"...It's nothing."

"This below is the real secret archive."

"..."

"Follow me."

Namgung Cheong said and began to go down the passage.

Watching him, he carefully took a step.

Namgung Il also slowly went down the stairs.

"..."

A moment later, the stairs ended, and Namgung Il came out into a wide space.

Just like the passage he had passed through, there were night-luminescent pearls embedded here and there in this area as well.

Books that looked like secret manuals and various precious swords were neatly placed around.

'So this is the Emperor's Secret Archives of the Namgung Clan.'

Any martial artist in the world who entered this place would have no choice but to be surprised like him now.

At the same time, they would drool and try to get their hands on those things somehow.

Wanting to become stronger was, in a way, a martial artist's instinct, so Namgung Il could fully understand that feeling.

That's why they were hidden like this so that no one could see them in the first place.

"Namgung Il."

"...?"

"Why do you think I brought you here?"

Just then, Namgung Cheong suddenly asked him.

Well, it wasn't that he couldn't roughly guess the reason.

Namgung Cheong wouldn't have brought him to a place like this just to show him around.

"Can I learn the martial arts of the Namgung Clan that are in that place?"

"That's right."

Hearing that answer, a smile appeared on Namgung Il's face without him realizing it.

The secret martial arts of the Namgung Clan.

He was purely happy as a martial artist at the thought that he would be able to learn a sword style on a different level from the sword styles he had learned so far.

"In that place are the martial arts that can be called the ultimate techniques of the Namgung Clan."

"..."

"Each one is a great martial art, and if you master them, you can surely rise to the ranks of the best in the world."

The best in the world.

Although that might sound a bit arrogant, Namgung Il immediately nodded his head.

Because Namgung Jeongung's skills could be said to be close to that level.

Moreover, even that Namgung Jeongung had said that he had not yet perfectly understood the sword style of the Namgung Clan.

"In my opinion, you are fully qualified to learn those martial arts."

"..."

"Anything is fine. Choose the martial art that you think is yours."

The Azure Sky Sword Style, the Great Expansion Sword Style, and the Azure Sky Great Expansion Sword Style that Namgung Il had learned so far were sword styles that any warrior of the Namgung Clan could learn.

But what was in front of him now was a realm that only the direct descendants could learn.

Namgung Il had finally been recognized for that qualification by Namgung Cheong.

"...I understand."

Namgung Cheong walked with a meaningful expression.

The sword style he would choose from now on.

If he had to choose only one among the numerous advanced sword styles placed there, he would normally have no choice but to hesitate.

However.

Namgung Il had already decided on a sword style in his heart before he even took a step.

'The spar of 689 wins, 688 losses, and 500 draws. Among them, the sword style of Namgung Jeongung that made me lose the most was...'

Thud—

Namgung Il stopped in front of a certain secret manual.

Thirteen Lightning Sword Thunders.

Those six characters were written on the cover.

'And...'

Heavenly Thunder Emperor's Divine Art.

Namgung Il held those two in his hand and returned to where Namgung Cheong was.

"I've chosen."

"...Already?"

"Is there a need to think so much? I just chose as my heart led me."

"..."

As his heart led him.

He had certainly told him to choose what he thought was his, but still, this was too fast.

'When I first came here, I thought about it for almost half a day.'

The Emperor's Secret Archives was like a table full of delicacies to a martial artist.

Even if only delicious food was served, one would hesitate where to move their chopsticks first... but Namgung Il had finished his choice without a moment's hesitation, even with numerous advanced sword styles in front of him.

On top of that.

'Thirteen Lightning Sword Thunders and Heavenly Thunder Emperor's Divine Art.'

Namgung Cheong's gaze naturally went to those names.

Because that sword style and heart art were what could be called Namgung Jeongung's ultimate techniques in the past.

He didn't know if Namgung Il had chosen those two knowing that, but the Thirteen Lightning Sword Thunders and the Heavenly Thunder Emperor's Divine Art had a very excellent compatibility, so much so that they were considered almost one martial art.

'However, compared to the others, it's difficult to make them one's own, and if one touches them carelessly, one might be devoured by the sword instead.'

An untamed wild animal.

That's how Namgung Cheong thought of that sword style.

"...Are you really okay with that?"

"Yes."

"I'll be honest. If you just learn that sword style properly, it will exert great power, but the process will be considerably rougher than other sword styles."

"I like it even more."

He had warned him that it was dangerous, but that was the answer that came back.

That smile was by no means a bluff.

"..."

If that appearance was Namgung Il's true self... he might be able to make the Thirteen Lightning Sword Thunders and the Heavenly Thunder Emperor's Divine Art his own.

As if he had made a decision, Namgung Cheong started to walk.

Swoosh—

Namgung Cheong held a sword and returned to where Namgung Il was.

At that moment, his eyes widened as if surprised.

A sword that was very familiar to Namgung Il was now in Namgung Cheong's hand.

'Thunder Roar Sword!'

That sword was definitely the sword that Namgung Jeongung had used in the past.

To think that it would be back in the Namgung Clan.

Suddenly faced with his friend's keepsake, Namgung Il couldn't say anything.

"In the past, this was the sword your grandfather used."

"..."

"This will be of help to you."

Namgung Cheong said and held out the sword.

A moment of silence.

Soon, Namgung Il carefully took the Thunder Roar Sword in his hand.

"Perhaps this is also fate."

"..."

"Use it carefully."

Fate... he was the type who didn't believe in such things as fate.

But from the moment he didn't die and became Namgung Il, it must have meant that he had some kind of role given to him.

Of course, he didn't know what that role was right away, but if he just moved forward silently, he would be able to find out what it was.

'Jeongung, I miss your face today.'

Looking at the sword in his hand, Namgung Il quietly smiled a bitter smile.